Dear Best of Burque, you sure are a Lot of Worque.

We all love our Burque, but sometimes we forget to say so out loud. For 20 years and counting, the Weekly Alibi has told the Burque Monster that we love it by counting up thousands and thousands of votes and boiling them down into the definitive things our readers love about living here. Some things are different, some things stay the same. You can think of it as a love letter. To the Burque.

Amelia Olson (Neblina founder, musician): “At Forever 21 in Coronado Mall, music plays so loudly from every direction that you’re like a small animal locked in an ill-timed demise. By the time you’re safely in your car, you find yourself with awkward fitting faux silk dresses and weird smelling cardigans. What happened to you? Who were you in those dark moments, aimlessly walking from room to room trying to decipher if you’re an S, M or L?”

Best Bike Trail, Best City Politician to be Awarded a Medal, Best News Anchor We Want to Wear a Cowboy Hat for an Entire Broadcast, Best "Breaking Bad" Location and more winners in essential Burqueñosity.

Manny Rettinger (Studio recording engineer and music technology lecturer, University of New Mexico): “I'm not sure if Nauman considered the sonic possibilities in his conception of the piece, but I am obsessed with the desire to explore them.”

Jessica Billey (Multi-instrumentalist, The Grave of Nobody’s Darling, Phantom Lake, Veery and more): “Doing Tai Chi next to hundreds of giant birds on a cold morning, facing east towards the mountains and the climbing sun, turned out to be pure magic.”

Gordy Anderson (Guitarist, Black Maria): “In a town where a local band's guarantee is a couple of drink tickets and perhaps a slice of the take at the door, the green room at Sister will help you fulfill your rock star fantasies and momentarily forget you have to lug all your crap back to the practice space at 2:30 a.m.”

Peter Mezensky (KUNM DJ, Duke City Tech co-founder): “This town is in dire need of more/better tech jobs or any kind of jobs, really. In order to attract those jobs, we need to show off our local talent and help them network with the right people.“

Michael Henningsen (PIO/Media and Marketing Director for Expo New Mexico and Former Alibi Editor/Music Editor): “Bill Richardson is a true craftsman, perhaps the only real one in the whole state. Take your guitars to him or sell them and buy new ones and just hope for the best from the factory. What Bill's got working is a thing called magic.”

Nora Hickey (Editor-in-Chief of the Blue Mesa Review Literary Magazine): “Winning Coffee has it all: slams, open mics, OUTspoken Word, Works In Progress (UNM creative writing graduate students and professors) and an eclectic cast of regulars.“

Eric Castillo (Blogger at Followeric.com): “Going in, I never know what I'll end up with, but I always find something fun and funky. I've walked out with everything from a handmade hand warmer to a vintage necktie.”

Sarah Kennedy and Sarah Mowery (Stand-up comedians, hosts of Broad Humor Comedy Show): “This half-treehouse, half-bar is the perfect atmosphere for wise-cracks and story-telling after shows. If you’re out on a Friday or Saturday night, Dan Rascon is surely standing at the bar. Anodyne’s beer selection and friendly staff make it an obvious pick for energetic, post-show folk.”

Chris Silva (Weekly Alibi Circulation Driver): “Six bucks will get your tire fixed, and it never takes more than ten minutes. Once, these guys found me a particular and much-needed rim in their salvage pile that the dealer had on backorder for over a month.”